Squad speculation thread 2020/21

Yeah, sorry, I thought you were making reference to the fact that some may move on due to pay cuts etc. In that case I agree that ABJ and Kosta will be gone. Wilko said he will be taking it one season at a time so we may see him for another season, but probably unlikely.

Just came across this article. So it sounds like the clubs want to be able to target specific players, and are aiming to be able to force up to 30% cuts (selectively). For us, I guess that could be Kosta and ABJ.

1 Like

Obviously itā€™s not the most ethical move but if the club is allowed to target specific players, they could essentially force ABJ and Kosta to leave by offering them hugely reduced contracts right? Would be a pretty good way of getting rid of them before their contracts are up.

Wonā€™t happen unless the PFA can negotiate a payout benefit to those players who leave because of this. Itā€™ll count outside the Cap, but will still have a financial impact. I donā€™t see us losing anyone, as much as the pessimistic fans amongst us would like to see it happenā€¦

Basing my premise on nothing at all, I would assume that our club would be against lowing the cap as weā€™re fucking rich bitch and the fallout from such an endeavour would have a large and negative impact on the goodwill we have built since the Adelaide debacle.

5 Likes

I like the way Snrub thinksā€¦

2 Likes

I have never been a ā€˜scrap the capā€™ personā€¦ but I think it actually makes the most sense coming our of Covid and the TV deal fiasco. Let clubs manage their own books according to their situation and how they think they can operate on less incomeā€¦ maybe have a floor but thatā€™s it. If Sydney want to spend the $$ the give their supporters the best team they can afford, they should be able toā€¦ if Newcastle (for example) want to budget 2 mill for salaries, that should be their choiceā€¦

I know that this type of structure might see some clubs struggle to compete or runs the risk of irresponsible spending by some, but history of the A-League has shown that many clubs are up against the wall and fail to ā€˜competeā€™ anyway regardless of the cap

1 Like

I was more underwhelmed with their first seasons than most, but Iā€™d still rather the club maintain the culture and not be cunts to 2 relatively high profile / high earning players. That kinda shit will only create disharmony and make it harder to lock in future foreign players.

King Milos was only decent in his first season with us too, before then hitting god mode in season two. Granted he was adapting to the league which these two have already done, but Iā€™d still much rather the club focus on giving them every opportunity to shine.

4 Likes

And, Kosta, at least, works his socks off for us doing all the non-glamorous work on top of his attacking role.

You should join The Sky Blues Podcast.

They love throwing Kosta under the busā€¦

Apparently we offered Tilio a new contract but heā€™s leaving to play first team football.

He wonā€™t get it at City but hey I admire his confidence.

1 Like

Heā€™s only 19 - I know heā€™s a rare talent, but heā€™ll struggle to get first team football anywhere in the A-Leagueā€¦

Did you all feel similarly pessimistic about the first team A League potential of eg Burgess and Devlin? What about Timotheu? We have missed plenty of rough diamonds that just needed a little more opportunity to get polished.

With Wales leaving theres definitely a spot on the wing up for grabs. Also as a youngster the lure of Cityā€™s network as a pathway to Europe would be very appealing.

How many players have gone to Europe using cityā€™s networks? Arzani & mooy? For all their talk of developing youth there is little to show for it. The only ā€œyouthā€ players involved in their finals teams were Atkinson & Wales (who were both in the team due to others being absent, & have since been allowed to leave) couple of kids on the bench but they didnā€™t see meaningful minutes.

if you are a young attacker at Sydney you have to know that you arenā€™t making it into the first team.
You could score dozens of goals in the lower leagues and wouldnā€™t make it.

Our attack is over 30 and has been for quite a while. Fleeting appearances by Ivanovic and buhagiar have been the only anomalies.

I never said the club should get rid of them or that it was the right thing to do. I just said that IF targeting was an option, it would be an effective way of getting rid of two older players who had average seasons and are on big money. Was purely a hypothetical.

Heā€™d be the worldā€™s slowest winger

Burgess can be put into the same pile as PetRat. Went on to be handy AF HAL players, but both spent a few years in the wilderness after leaving us before reaching that potential. Devlinā€™s the one Iā€™m most cut about, always loved his cameoā€™s which ran by the formula of 1 opponent kicked per minute on pitch. :+1: Would love to see him back one day.

What happened to Timotheu? There was talk of him coming back to Western United just before Covid but it never eventuated.

I do think people completely under estimate just how difficult it is to transition from youth team / reserve football to the top flight in any countryā€¦ I have no actual stats, but there is a reason that Rooney, Messi and Mbappe got so much attention when they were able to actually do it in their teensā€¦because it is something 99% of footballers canā€™t do.

If Sydney FC are going to remain on top of the pile, we need to stop thinking that players from our NYL or NPL teams are going to cut through into the first team. Grant and Jurman are the only ones to do it with any deal of success and even then, Jurman had to go to Brisbane to get some first team football and Grant was played in almost every position until Arnold settled him into a great RB

1 Like